With Varying Frequency – Amateur Radio Ponderings

Everyone has these phases in their lives where much focus, energy and attention is required elsewhere. The need usually has a big emotional content and often comes with bonus time draws when others need your support at the same time you’re dealing with the main issue(s).

What is actually issue doesn’t much matter, as your time is pushed into responding and then recovering yourself.

You end up triaging what things you do in life to meet the needs of the moment.  Hierarchy of needs factors in – get fed, pay the bills, keep things going… and eventually you have to replenish yourself in ways that get you ready to “rinse & repeat” as the life situation demands.

Seems everyone has a mental activity, as sort of “safe space” of activity, that they retreat to while replenishing.

Mine falls in a trio of activities – first keeping active.  When in this situation I truly crave my gym & pool daily time.

Next I read books.  I am ineffective reading anything serious and most non-fiction when so pushed, so often it is a retreat into action fiction.  Jack Reacher, Grey Man, Peter Ash, Stiger Chronicles, or their historical equivalents.

The third part is radios – making contacts.  If not too mentally/emotionally fatigued SSB is a choice opportunity to hear new friendly voices.  Otherwise it is the mentally quiet digital mode QSO action that works.

Early in July I really enjoyed digitally chasing the 13 Colonies Event while they were on the air.  Important?  Only that is was a welcome distraction from life events.

Ham radio as Therapy?  You betcha!

73

Steve
K9ZW

Distracted by a bunch of “real life” things, I basically dislike the posts I’d been working on.

So there will be a brief hiatus while toss out the drafts that read like they were done in broken crayon, and start those topics over anew.

I’ll see if I can finish off a few new drafts and get them to post fairly soon.

73

Steve
K9ZW

Technology is certainly a double-edge sword. For every advantage technology also has a disadvantage. Often we call these adverse impacts “unintended consequences” despite being part of the design of the technology from the get go.

“There are three categories of unintended consequences. The unexpected benefit, which is a positive but unplanned outcome, The unexpected drawback, in which we create a problem that is apart from the problem we wish to solve, And perverse results, wherein in trying to solve a problem, we actually make it worse.” – https://sustainabilityunlocked.com/videos/the-three-categories-of-unintended-consequences

So there are three main unintended consequence outcomes. Helpful, Disconnected Adverse, and Direct Adverse. While I could argue there are more (Disconnected Helpful, Distractive/Diversions, and Induced Randomization might be another three) using the “Helpful, Disconnected Adverse, and Direct Adverse” model suits our discussion.

An example is the built-in loss of privacy with the tracking of wireless access points:

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/05/privacy-implications-of-tracking-wireless-access-points.html

So basically if you want the “desired” capabilities you expose the “undesirable” capabilities.

Makes sense, as you can’t operate a transponder without making your position discoverable.

Many of these so called “dark aspects of technology” are part & parcel of the base technology, and it is unwise of us to imagine that they would remain unexploited.

Reflecting on Amateur Radio operations, we also put out a lot of information about our operating practices, location(s) and personal world over the air.  While I’ve not seen papers yet on it, it is conceivable to distinguish from remote operations to in-shack operations on an aggregate level.  Have several characteristics that likely are worth a look at to see if a difference can be discerned and further used as a tool in the field.

Interesting area of study.

73

Steve
K9ZW